POLICE have been called in to investigate allegations about the way a member of staff treated a north-east care home resident.
The Banks O’ Dee facility in Aberdeen has been reported to officials after an employee was suspended amid claims about their conduct towards someone they were looking after.
Operator Four Seasons Healthcare Group has also been banned by the local authority from accepting any new admissions to the home at Tullos after numerous welfare concerns were raised.
The failings were exposed following a two-month investigation by the Care Inspectorate.
In a scathing report seen by the Press and Journal, inspectors said the way staff claimed they were being treated and trained was having a “detrimental effect” on how the home was being run.
Their investigation also revealed that Banks O’ Dee Care Home bosses had launched a probe into staff bullying and harassment.
Last night, Four Seasons said it was struggling to recruit “the right calibre of staff” in the north-east.
And the company – which has homes across the region – blamed Aberdeen’s “booming local economy” for making the wages it offers so unappealing.
A Four Seasons spokeswoman said it had to rely heavily on agency workers as the city offered so many other well-paid jobs.
But critics hit out at the “excuse” and said the company was using it to cover up poor management skills.
MSP for the area, Maureen Watt, said the problem was the management’s competence – not the staff.
“The issues raised in this latest inspection report expose failings in management and supervision,” she said. “I don’t think they can use Aberdeen’s booming economy as an excuse.
“It appears that residents and relatives are not being listened to and improvements have clearly not been put in place.”
North-east MSP Alex Johnstone said that if Four Seasons bosses made the most of the staff they had, the problem would not exist.
“I can understand why the claim has been made, but it’s a poor excuse because we have scores of workers here that can satisfy the demand,” he said.
Inspectors visited Banks O’ Dee on seven separate occasions during January and March.
It was revealed that care home bosses reported six adult support and protection concerns to the local authority and – “where appropriate” – police.
A Four Seasons spokeswoman revealed the “ongoing” police involvement related to an allegation about a member of staff, who is currently suspended.
“This is our normal procedure and nothing should be read into this,” she said. “The reports to adult support and protection were made by the home and mostly refer to wound care issues.”
Inspectors said they were concerned about the staff “culture” at Banks O’ Dee and that carers did not always know about changes to residents’ needs.
They said one nurse had not been recruited “safely” as she had not been interviewed by a suitably qualified or experienced member of staff.
“Staff told us that care standards, staff morale and teamwork started to decline in 2013,” the inspectors revealed.
“It was alleged that some staff had been spoken to in a disrespectful manner in front of residents and that concerns about staff competency had not been dealt with in a professional manner. We were concerned that the culture described by staff was likely to have a detrimental effect on the service’s capacity to provide adequate standards of care.
“The provider also shared this concern and had started to take action to establish a culture where staff were valued and confident to raise issues.”
Grampian Senior Citizens Forum chairman, George Thomson, said if Four Seasons was unable to train and treat the staff it employed properly, then it should not be in business.
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